Thunderbolt for PCs a reality as Ivy Bridge launch nears

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If you’re a PC user dreaming of Thunderbolt, today’s news will be music to your ears. According to reports, Intel has begun shipping its second-generation Thunderbolt controller, which means motherboards supporting the technology (like Intel’s DZ77GA) and the company’s next generation CPU will be able to ship. Cactus Ridge is Intel’s first Thunderbolt chip that supports Windows, and is expected to launch alongside the chipmaker’s upcoming Ivy Bridge CPU.

Cnet reports that Ivy Bridge should land on April 23, and Intel is making a push among partners to include Thunderbolt support in motherboards built for their new CPUs. The company obviously has a vested interest in seeing this happen: it co-created the technology alongside Apple and, with USB 3.0 taking hold in the industry, Intel’s window is closing fast.

Ivy Bridge CPUs will have integrated support for USB 3.0 but not for Thunderbolt, so the additional controller is required. Acer, Asustek, and Lenovo are expected to be some of the first to debut the high-speed interface for Windows computers, but it is believed the option will be restricted to high-end laptops and desktops.

Why? Intel is fighting a battle of perception among PC manufacturers. HP has committed exclusively to USB 3.0 as it sees no “value proposition” in Thunderbolt. That is bound to hurt the specification overall, as HP is the world’s largest PC maker by a decent margin. Second place Dell has so far been quiet on its plans, further adding to the uncertainty.

Uncertainty is not the friend of business, and this is the biggest reason why manufacturers have so far steered clear of producing peripherals with Thunderbolt support. Save for a handful of drives and ultra high-end items such as Apple’s Thunderbolt Display, there isn’t much out there. Compare this with USB 3.0, which already has dozens of peripherals, and is widely available, including through retailers like Target and Walmart.

Thunderbolt will try its best to catch up, though. Intel’s PC Client group chief Kirk Skaugen said earlier this week at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing that he expects at least 100 Thunderbolt-capable devices available at retail by the end of the year, increasing to the “hundreds” in 2013.

PC support is key. While HP may be a lost cause, Intel must focus on the rest of the market, especially Dell, to ensure that Thunderbolt does not go the same way that FireWire did. There too Apple had its hands in the pot, and created a standard that was too expensive to implement. Sounding like Thunderbolt yet? USB 2.0 was cheaper and easier (and also featured backward compatibility), and it won the day.

As ExtremeTech’s Sebastian Anthony pointed out last year, if Thunderbolt peripherals continue to cost $200-300 more, it doesn’t matter who supports it — nobody’s going to use it.

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Articles that focus on USB 3 vs. Thunderbolt miss the point. Thunderbolt is more than a storage connection interface. Although you will get at least twice the throughput in a Thunderbolt device, the real advantages the support for PCI Express. You can take a relatively low powered device, like an ultrabook, then add a PCI e graphics card and at your desk have a high end graphics workstation. Sonnet makes PCIe and ExpressCard expansion cards to Thunderbolt enabled devices.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1223563048 Angel Ham

For that I hope someone makes a TB graphics chip that fits in a flash drive form factor. Something affordable enough to give the netbook an extra oomph to play games/HD video at a decent quality.

Of course, if someone makes that come true and thinks it’s “smart” to charge $300 for it I say “F*ck you” to the manufacturer.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1223563048 Angel Ham

TB is going to become the next Firewire: Superior to USB in every aspect but relegated to niche markets because of the high cost of peripherials/devices.

Marc B.

I am curious to see if computer networking will be able to be done via Thunderbolt.

Because USB is ubiquitous, the de facto interface, cost effective and is good enough.

Better tech doesn’t always win the market.

Maventwo

But why is not Thunderbolt backward-compatible?
The contact do not have the same shape as ordinary USB.USB 3.0 with Power Delivery standard is much more interesting I think.Because USB 3.0 can transmit 5GBit/s and also as Power Delivery cabel up to 100wattso Ultrabook computers and other types of energy efficient computers can use only USB 3.0as electric contact. Where every USB 3.0 contact will be intelligent to detect what power your computer needfor the USB 3.0 Power Delivery.Forthcoming Ultrabook computers can use simplier power supply with only DC/DC-circuitsinstead of a transformator because of the new standard of USB Power Delivery makes it simplier.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SBEBRC7VKAGB5QIB3AWDHJARYM PodKiDo

It was rumoured that the early-2011 MacBook Pro update would include some sort of new data port, and most of the speculation suggested it would be Light Peak. At the time, there were no details on the physical implementation, and mock-ups appeared showing a system similar to the earlier Intel demos using a combined USB/Light Peak port. Shortly before the release of the new machines, the USB Implementers Forum(USB-IF) announced they would not allow this, stating that USB was not open to modification in this way.

http://livejox.livejournal.com/ LiveJoX

LaCie should implement Thunderbolt also on the LaCie Rugged Triple and on the LaCie d2 Quadra Hard Disks.

Anonymous

TB should make docking stations and non-laptop PCs almost obsolete. Why spend over $100 for a new docking station for every new laptop when a two simple connectons (Power and TB) will do it all. Why get a PC when you can add any peripheral to a laptop with TB.

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